Following a number of years of price inflation in the house market the recent measures announced within the Budget and by the Central Bank should offer some relief for purchasers looking to get onto the property ladder.
Firstly the Help to Buy incentive announced in the Budget and set out in the Finance Bill aims to assist first time buyers by providing for a refund of income tax and DIRT paid over the previous four tax years to first-time buyers who purchase a property to reside in as their principal private residence.
The new relief will be available for first-time buyers who purchase a new residential property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2019.
In addition the announcement by the Central Bank’s commission after the Budget alters the existing mortgage rules introduced in February 2015.
Under the change to the rules, the deposit requirement for first-time buyers has now been placed at 10% of the value of the property, under the previous system it was 10% on the first €220,000 and 20% of the remainder. The revised mortgage rules come into effect from the beginning of next year.